


The Love Letter

by WolfAndHound_Archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: First Time, Marauders' Era, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-18 09:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5919202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfAndHound_Archivist/pseuds/WolfAndHound_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A love letter wreaks havoc in Hogwarts. Marauder Era.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Love Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Lassenia, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Wolf and Hound](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Wolf_and_Hound), which was created to make stories posted to the Sirius_Black_and_Remus_Lupin Yahoo! mailing list easier to find. However, even though I still love the fandom, I am no longer active in it and do not have the time to maintain it. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in December 2015. I posted an announcement with Open Doors, but we may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on the [Wolf and Hound collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/wolfandhound/profile).

"What'cha got there, Lily?"

"ACK!"

James Potter couldn't hide his grin at the sight of Lily Evans' shock. It seemed her eyes were wide as dinner plates before they narrowed dangerously in his direction.

"None of your business!"

"My, my! So touchy...must be really interesting!" James lunged at the girl, groping for the roll of parchment that was currently clenched tightly in her left fist.

Soon there was nothing but a cloud of red hair and gangly limbs on top of the observatory tower, paired with frantic shouts.

"Oi! Bugger off! Yaarrrggghhh!"

In the middle of the fray, a lone roll of parchment fell from the tower and landed in a small drift of snow.

"Now look what you've done, woman!"

"ME?! You dodgy Git!"

\+ + + + +

Remus loved the smell of winter. Thick snow covered the school grounds, and it crunched wonderfully under his worn leather boots. The afternoon air was crisp and refreshing as it played in the folds of his robes, and absolutely nothing could ruin this gorgeous day. As he walked, something caught his eye. It looked like a roll of parchment sticking out of a snowdrift. Remus bent over and picked it up. It must have just fallen because the snow hadn't had a chance to soak it yet. He stood up and turned the scroll over in his hands.

THWACK!

"Remus! Oi, Remus! You okay mate?"

"Mmrph..."

It was quite difficult to speak with your mouth full of snow, and currently Remus was laying facedown in about a foot and a half of it. He cringed inwardly at the sound of heavy, gallumphing footsteps coming his way.

"Hey. Get up." Remus felt a strong hand grab the collar of his robe and attempt to pull him up. Unfortunately, all it did was choke him.

"...aaaaaccckkkk..."

"Oh, sorry `bout that. I was aiming for Peter, but I guess my aim was a little off."

A little? Peter was about ninety degrees to his left and twenty feet away! Remus didn't have time to finish his train of thought before two strong hands went under his arms and awkwardly dragged him to his feet.

When Remus was finally standing, the strong hands went to his shoulders and twirled him around.

"'Lo, Moony!" Sirius was grinning from ear to ear like the daft bugger he was.

"...'Lo, Padfoot." Remus reluctantly met the taller boy's eyes. Damn, he was annoying...But damn, he was cute. Remus shook his head and frowned at himself for that unwelcome little thought. Sirius' smile quickly faded at the sight of the frown and Remus' heart sank.

"I'm really sorry, Remus. Are you okay?" Sirius looked truly regretful as he stooped a bit to look into his friend's soft brown eyes.

"Yeah. I'm fine...thanks." Remus tried to smile, but suddenly felt very awkward. He started brushing the remains of the slushy snowball out of his hair to disguise his nerves.

"Good. Um...wanna join us?"

"No, thanks. I've got to...uh...run some errands." He didn't give Sirius a chance to reply before scampering off towards the school. He knew he was blushing furiously, but he hoped that Sirius would simply owe it to the increasingly harsh wind.

\+ + + + +

Sirius watched his friend running towards the main entrance. He felt horrible. Remus was upset with him...again. He looked down at his sparkling new (now snow-encrusted) dragon-hide boots. He then noticed a small roll of parchment lying next to Remus' outline in the snow. He reached down and picked it up. It was only a little damp, and hopefully still legible.

Ignoring the little voice in the back of his mind that was currently scolding him for being a snoop, Sirius unrolled the parchment and started reading. His eyes widened at every line.

Christmas is a time for honesty and love, and this Christmas, I want to tell you something I've wanted to tell you for over a year. I love your blue eyes and your messy black hair. I love the big, daft grin you give me when you do something horrid. I love watching you during quidditch practice. I know you think I'm always put out with you, but...well, here's the truth: I love you. Every bit of you. I can only pray you feel the same.

Merry Christmas

"Good God!" Sirius' eyes were bugging out as if a bludger had collided with the back of his head. It wasn't Remus' handwriting, but the lettering was so perfect and generic that he was sure whoever had written it had put a charm to mask penmanship on the parchment.

"What is it, Paddy?" Peter had crept up to stand beside his taller friend, and was currently craning his head to see the letter. "Nothing. Just a note," he replied casually as he neatly curled the paper up and stuck it in an inner pocket of his robe.

Thankfully Peter didn't ask any more questions, but instead popped Sirius in the head with a snowball he had concealed behind his back.

"You horrid little rodent! Get back here!!" Sirius hopped off toward the retreating figure, his abnormally long, skinny arms waving comically in the air as he went.

\+ + + + +

Remus was lying in his bed, writing a long letter to his parents, wishing them a fun Christmas vacation. They had decided to visit a family friend in Italy for Christmas, and Remus didn't get to go due to financial matters. He didn't mind, really. It was actually really nice to be able to spend the holiday with his friends. It was their last year at Hogwarts, and celebrating Christmas together was a wonderful way to say goodbye. With this thought, Remus found himself lost in nostalgic memories. Before he could stop himself, he felt a familiar tingling at the corner of his eyes and realized he was crying. As if on cue, the dormitory door flew open with a bang, and Sirius entered, yelling a jovial (and loud) goodbye to someone over his shoulder before slamming the door.

The taller boy carelessly stepped on his shoes to remove his feet and kicked them, sopping wet, into the corner. Remus cringed inwardly as he watched the dirty water pool on the formerly spotless floor.

"Hey...Remus." Sirius had noticed his friend lying facedown on the bed. Remus immediately noticed the awkward feeling that had suddenly swept through the room.

"Hey, Sirius. What're you up to?" Remus tried his best to smile warmly. He hoped Sirius wasn't still feeling bad about the snowball incident.

"Oh. Nothing..."

"Ah."

"Yeah." Sirius felt extremely odd. He fumbled around with his hair for a second, then turned rapidly from his right to his left before deciding to go to his bed. Remus only raised an eyebrow at him. This was certainly not normal Sirius behavior.

"What's gotten into you? You seemed normal earlier today, what's happened?" Remus turned on his side and propped his head up on his fist, a concerned look on his face.

"I-er-nothing. Just...nothing." Sirius was now sitting on the side of his bed, arms resting on his legs, face pointed at the floor.

"Certainly doesn't sound like nothing." Remus swung his legs over the side of the bed and faced Sirius. "Look at me. Tell me what happened. You're starting to worry me."

Sirius reluctantly lifted his head slightly, and peered at his friend across the room. When their eyes met, he could feel his face flush. Remus was attractive, no doubt about it. Sirius mentally bit himself for that thought.

When Sirius blushed, Remus' heart contracted. He's acting like a schoolgirl with a crush! He then mentally punched himself for even thinking something that outrageous. For nearly seven years the two had been best friends, and neither of them had ever shown the slightest sign of attraction towards the other. Remus suddenly realized he was now studiously examining the floor. Silence permeated the room, and the awkwardness settled around the two boys like a heavy, uncomfortable cloak.

\+ + + + +

"Mmm...that was nice."

"Quite a pleasant surprise, indeed." James took the lit cigarette from Lily's slender fingers and took a drag himself. He smiled at the ring of burgundy lipstick that was smeared over the white paper covering the filter. He imagined his face looked much the same. It was funny how a fight could turn into a hardcore snog- fest so quickly. He turned to face his new girlfriend and handed her cigarette back.

"It's funny how love and hate are so closely tied, isn't it? Although I must admit that I've never hated you, and I'm sure you knew all along." Lily winked at James as her full lips surrounded the end of the fag. James smiled serenely at her as he watched the white tendrils of smoke curl from between her parted lips. He couldn't stop himself as he covered her candy sweet mouth with his own, running his tongue over the roof of her mouth as he plundered her for the second time that day. In the few, frantic seconds that followed, little monkeys wielded knives and bread plates as they roasted them alive before carving their dead, roasted bodies and serving the tender, steaming morsels to their High Monkey Priest. With a frustrated cry, James sat bolt upright in his bed and flung his sheets in the air. It was all a sodding dream!

Sirius yelled as he turned on his bedside lamp and hopped out of bed, looking surprised, groggy and scared simultaneously. "What happened?"

"James? Sirius?" Remus popped his tousled head out from behind the heavy fabric that closed his bed off from the room. One eye squinted against the offending light from the lamp while the other was glued shut with eye boogers.

"W-w-w-is everything okay?" Peter was peeking out at his friends also, his face squinched up and looking distinctly rat-ish.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I just had a bad dream, that's all. Go back to bed. Nothing to worry about."

"What was it about?" Sirius stumped over towards James' bed, pushing his friend over so he had room to sit.

"Eh. Just stupid stuff. I think it involved monkeys with bread knives or something. Go back to bed and get out of mine, you prat!" Sirius had lain down in James' bed and was now sticking his large feet in his friend's face.

"But I like it here," Sirius whined as James kicked him to the floor with a grin.

"Well, go annoy Moony. I'm going back to sleep," James yawned as he closed his curtains. Sirius stuck his tongue out in James' general direction before stumping over to Remus' bed, where the owner of said bed was currently rubbing the offending crust from his eyes.

"Budge over, Moony," Sirius said gruffly, all memory of earlier that day apparently forgotten.

With a sigh, Remus obliged, giving Sirius room to flop down on the warm bed. He sat on his pillow at the headboard and watched Sirius squirm around in the middle of the bed until he found a comfortable spot.

"Nnnngg, now I'm never getting back to sleep," Sirius grumbled crossly as he looked up at his friend. "And by the way, my reply to your letter is that I...well...I feel the same way." Remus knit his brows and stared at his friend. The only letter he had written him recently was one in a Christmas card. All he had said was that he hoped he had a fun Christmas. That was quite odd.

"If you want, I'll go back to my bed. I don't want to invade your private space."

"Why? You've never cared about it before," Remus said with a laugh.

"Oh, shut it." Sirius slipped under the down comforter and snuggled in. Remus watched his friend and debated crawling in next to him, but before he could overanalyze the situation, Sirius snatched at the pillow he was perched on and tugged at the leg of his pajamas insistently. With a sigh, Remus slid under the covers, facing away from Sirius. As soon as he had snuggled down also, he felt a strong arm encircle him and gently grab his hand. It was shocking, but he couldn't deny that it felt quite nice. With a nervous sigh, he closed his eyes and felt his body gravitate towards the warm one behind him. As he was on the edge of sleep, he felt the ghost of a kiss against his neck and smiled contentedly. This was starting to feel right.

\+ + + + +

Light had filled the room, and currently a small sliver of it was twinkling with obstinacy on Remus' closed eyelid. With a guttural grunt, he slapped his bony hand over his face and attempted to rub the light away. It didn't work, but Remus was soon very aware of the fact that a very long and slightly hairy arm encircled his waist. Attached to the arm was a large hand that wore a small silver ring identical to the one Sirius wore all the time. Remus felt the air thicken as his breathing suddenly became labored. Licking his lips out of nervousness, the brown-haired boy found himself faced with an internal struggle. Half of him desperately wanted to turn around and snog the life out of Sirius, but the other wanted nothing more than to run from the room and hide in a hole in the ground for the rest of his life.

"Mmm...Moony. G'morning."

So much for running for it. Remus squeezed his eyes shut as he felt long fingers brushing his tousled hair away from his face, followed by the sensual warmth of Sirius' full lips pressing against his jawbone. Sirius' kiss was like a magnet in the way it drew in Remus' lips like iron filaments. Before long, Remus' temperance was replaced with a feral need that surprised both of them.

As he was straddling the taller boy, Remus suddenly felt as if he would die if he didn't get closer to Sirius. With an uncharacteristic snarl, Remus started ripping Sirius' nightclothes from his pale, lanky body with a frightful viciousness Sirius had never seen before.

"Oi! What's gotten into--" Sirius was cut off by a quick, yet bruising kiss.

"Nothing yet. You don't like it?" Remus quirked an eyebrow as he lifted his hips up to remove his own pajama pants.

"Oh, n-no. I'm certainly not complaining, but--"

"Good. Then shut up and fuck me."

Sirius was about to respond, but the words were completely lost as he felt his cock deliciously crushed against Remus' own. Before animal instinct could take over completely, however, Remus managed to mutter a quick silencing spell to save them from embarrassment.

\+ + + + +

James rolled over and crushed his pillow over his head. The mental image would scar him for the rest of his life, he was sure.

Please, for the love of God, use a silencing spell before you force me to bludgeon the both of you with a chair leg! Thankfully, he heard the first part of the spell being muttered before silence fell over the room. He tried to go back to sleep, but the knowledge that his two best friends were fucking like mad rabbits in the adjacent bed prohibited it. With a petulant sigh, James tossed his comforter off and flung his curtains open before dressing haphazardly and stomping from the room. He was so absorbed in muttering to himself as he pounded across the common room that he failed to notice Lily Evans standing in the middle of the room. He collided with her and knocked her flat on her nose.

"Oh damn! I'm sorry, Lily," he said as he offered her his hand.

"You again?! Why are you so intent on making my life a living hell?!" Lily gripped his hand a little harder than necessary, and stomped her foot when she was returned upright. She was adorable when she was frustrated.

"I said I was sorry for that. And I'm sorry for making you drop...whatever you were trying to hide from me on the tower," James muttered almost inaudibly as he stared at his mismatched shoes. Damn them for messing up my head! When he looked back at Lily, he noticed her jaw had almost hit the floor. "What? Why are you staring at me like I suddenly sprouted a horn?"

"I dearly wish we weren't alone. Nobody would ever believe it if I told them," Lily said with a truly confused look on her face. "James Potter apologizing! Unless you're simply trying to play games with my head, and in that case, you're a horrible bastard who deserves to have a broomstick shoved up his--"

"No, I actually meant it." Lily's face went blank. "Yeargh!! Why does God hate me so much?!"

"...Excuse me?" Lily backed away from the apparently barking mad boy. James shook his head and made a distressed sound before flopping down on a couch.

"You must think I've gone mad."

"Well...yes, actually." Lily was now staring at him with interest. "What's the matter?"

"Sirius and Remus are fucking in my dorm room," James said with a cracking voice.

"...What?"

"They're, you know, shagging. Each other. In MY dorm room!"

"...Oh." Lily flopped down next to James and stared into the fire. "I forgive you."

"What?"

"For being a bastard," she said, turning towards him.

"Oh. Thanks."

"Fancy a smoke? We could nip out to the observatory tower..." Lily grinned mischievously at James as she dug into her purse before flashing a small white box at him.

"Yeah, thanks. I could do with a fag."

Lily burst into laughter.

\+ + + + +

"Sirius. So good." Remus was currently buried under his spent lover, nuzzling into his neck and running fingers through his tousled black hair.

"Mm-hm. So glad you wrote me that letter, Moony," Sirius mumbled before turning his head to devour Remus' lips again. Remus broke the kiss sooner than he would have liked, however.

"What letter? And what did you mean by `my reply is yes' last night?"

"Huh? You know, the letter that you were trying to hide from me when I smacked you in the head with a snowball. You dropped it." Remus was now staring at his lover with utter confusion etched across his face.

"But Sirius...I found that letter in the snow the moment before you knocked me over. I had completely forgotten about it! I hadn't even read it yet! What in blazes did it say?" Sirius looked startled, and sat up quickly.

"You mean...Oh my God. It went on about how you...or whoever wrote the letter loves my black hair and my blue eyes, and loves watching me on the quidditch field! You really didn't write it?"

"No. I didn't," Remus said as he shook his head with confusion. He noticed Sirius' face falling and saw the awkwardness starting to settle around them again. "I mean, I certainly could have, but I didn't. I've felt this way about you for a while now, but I would never have had the nerve to write you a letter professing my love," he said as he got to his knees and inched over to where Sirius was sitting cross-legged at the other end of the bed. "You obviously feel the same, so who cares how we found out about the other's feelings? Let's just be thankful that we did...right?" Sirius looked at him with ice blue eyes that made the world fade away.

"Yeah, you're right," he muttered as the stoic look melted from his eyes. "I wouldn't trade this for anything." Remus was grinning like an idiot as Sirius leaned over to lick his earlobe before whispering something horribly obscene in the beet-red shell of his lover's ear.

"Oh God, if you do that, Sirius, I promise I'll give you cheat sheets for every last one of your final examinations!"


End file.
